News politics 2008-07-09 Andanh.com

McCain, Obama hide immigration similarities Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:13 EDT

WASHINGTON . When it comes to immigration, Barack Obama and John McCain generally agree. It's just that they don't want to say so.

Instead, the White House rivals accuse each other of flinching when it mattered most, during and after last year's Senate debate on a bill that would have given millions of illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.

McCain .was a champion of comprehensive reform, and I admired him for it,. Obama said Saturday in an appearance before The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. .But when he was running for his party's nomination, he walked away from that commitment and he's said he wouldn't even support his own legislation if it came up for a vote..

McCain had spoken earlier in the day to the same group, and his campaign swiftly countered his rival's charge. .Obama put politics first and supported .poison pill' efforts to kill the immigration reform compromise last year,. it said in a written rebuttal.

Obama says faith has role if he's elected Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:13 EDT

WASHINGTON . Barack Obama said Tuesday that if he were elected president he'd have his own version of President Bush's office of faith-based initiatives that would .help set our national agenda. and inject morality into policy debates about everything from AIDS to genocide.

Obama, who's criticized Bush's initiative as politicized and underfunded, would prohibit religious discrimination in hiring or services by the groups that received federal funds from his .Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.. He estimated that the program would cost $500 million a year. He said he'd keep Bush's 11 faith-based offices and expand participation by smaller religious groups.

Obama, a former constitutional law professor, said he was committed to ensuring the constitutional principle of separation of church and state. He said that federal grants would go only to secular programs run by religious groups, programs that don't advocate religion.

The prospective Democratic nominee's remarks drew much attention, as Obama again is presenting a more centrist image to voters than he did in party primary contests.

McCain aide takes over day-to-day campaign duties Thu, 03 Jul 2008 01:28 EDT
John McCain put a top adviser in control of day-to-day campaign operations Wednesday after weeks of private concerns among Republicans that the GOP presidential campaign had not made the transition for the general election.

Steve Schmidt, a veteran of President Bush's re-election and a member of the Arizona senator's inner circle, will oversee daily political, strategy, coalitions, scheduling and communications efforts from the campaign's northern Virginia headquarters.

The campaign's estimated 300-person staff will report to Schmidt, who will report to campaign manager Rick Davis.

Davis will continue to focus on long-term planning, the vice presidential search, fundraising and the national convention but Schmidt's added responsibilities mean the campaign manager's load now will be somewhat lighter. Davis took the reins of the campaign almost exactly a year ago amid a major staff shake-up and has been the subject of Democratic criticism for his past lobbying work.

He told the staff of Schmidt's expanded role at a Wednesday meeting at headquarters, saying that Schmidt would have "full operational control" of the campaign's daily activities.

McCain polishes his foreign policy visits Colombia, Mexico Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:13 EDT

CARTAGENA, Colombia . John McCain's trip here Tuesday was part of an unusual three-day presidential campaign swing to Latin America with a dual message for voters back home.

By visiting Colombia and Mexico, McCain wants to emphasize to all voters that he has stronger foreign policy credentials than Barack Obama, his Democratic rival.

McCain also wants to appeal specifically to Hispanics in the United States by expressing his concern for problems in Latin America.

.Hispanics are a very important voter bloc in some key states,. Republican pollster Neil Newhouse said, citing Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado and Florida. .It's a bloc that Obama didn't score well with against Hillary Clinton. during the Democratic primaries.

Obama looks to turn Montana blue in the fall Fri, 04 Jul 2008 21:50 EDT
Only two Democratic presidential candidates have carried Montana since 1948. Barack Obama is betting he can do it in November.

With just three electoral votes and its reputation as a red state, Montana rarely sees presidential candidates in the summer before a general election. Republicans usually take the state for granted, while Democrats don't even try to contest it.

But Obama has been spending a sizable amount of time and money on Montana, hiring a state director and staff while running TV ads detailing his background and qualifications. Montana is among fewer than 20 states the campaign is targeting early.

"Montana is considered one of the very competitive states," Obama spokesman Caleb Weaver said.

Obama's even spending the Fourth of July in Montana, attending a parade and picnic in rough-and-tumble Butte, the hometown of motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel, where drinking is allowed in the streets.

Obama and family spend Fourth of July in Montana Fri, 04 Jul 2008 23:25 EDT
It was a family Fourth of July for Democrat Barack Obama as his wife, daughters, sister and other relatives helped him make an Independence Day play for this reliably conservative state.

Obama paid tribute to a nation in which the son of a single mother could rise to such heights.

"I know that there is no other country out there where I could be standing before you as somebody who could potentially be president of the United States," he said at a campaign-sponsored "family picnic" for hundreds of people - part rally, part birthday party for his oldest daughter, Malia, who turned 10 on Friday. "We are going to change the world."

Cheers greeted Obama, his wife, Michelle, and their two daughters everywhere. As they arrived to watch the Fourth of July parade, the crowd broke into a rendition of "Happy Birthday" for Malia.

Obama joked that he had to tell the birthday girl not to get caught up in all the fuss.

Obama may accept nomination at Invesco Field Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:40 EDT
Barack Obama's campaign is considering having him accept the Democratic presidential nomination at Invesco Field at Mile High instead of the Pepsi Center, the chosen site for the Democratic National Convention, two people with knowledge of convention planning said Thursday.

The two spoke on condition of anonymity because nothing has been confirmed.

Obama campaign spokeswoman Shannon Gilson said no decisions have been made.

Representatives for the convention host committee and Mayor John Hickenlooper declined to comment or said they did not know about the proposal. Colorado Democratic Party Chairwoman Pat Waak did not return a telephone message seeking comment.

Democratic National Convention Committee spokeswoman Natalie Wyeth said, "There's nothing to announce."

Obama says Jones mailer is not an endorsement Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:45 EDT
Barack Obama's presidential campaign distanced itself Thursday from a mailer by Georgia Democratic Senate hopeful Vernon Jones that shows them together under Obama's signature slogan: "Yes we can."

Jones defended the mailer, saying it shows he supports the Illinois senator, not the other way around.

"It shows that I am the best person to work with Barack Obama to turn this country around," Jones told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Thursday.

Two of his four Democratic opponents pounced, saying the mailer suggests Jones - who twice voted for Republican George W. Bush - has Obama's backing.

"This last-ditch attempt to drape himself in the Barack Obama aura is not going to work," said challenger Dale Cardwell.

McCain: Staff shake-up part of 'natural evolution' Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:50 EDT
Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Thursday that a shake-up in the leadership of his campaign was part of a "natural evolution" as the organization becomes more national in scope.

McCain's campaign announced Wednesday that top adviser Steve Schmidt would assume a broad portfolio of duties, with nearly full control over message and strategy. Schmidt will report to Rick Davis, who will keep the title of campaign manager but focus on longer term matters like the Republican National Convention and McCain's choice of a running mate.

Addressing reporters at the conclusion of a three-day visit to Colombia and Mexico, the GOP nominee-in-waiting downplayed the personnel shift.

"Our campaign continues to grow, and the responsibilities are expanding and Mr. Schmidt is taking over some increased responsibilities," McCain said. "Rick Davis remains the campaign chairman, campaign manager. It's a natural evolution as we become more and more of a national campaign with increased staff and increased responsibilities."

Schmidt disclosed in memo Thursday to the 11 regional campaign managers that he will hire a national political director and a national field director to operate from the campaign's northern Virginia headquarters to improve regional operations and coordination.

Obama says Iraq trip could refine his policy Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:50 EDT
Democrat Barack Obama struggled Thursday to explain how his upcoming trip to Iraq might refine, but not basically alter, his promise to quickly remove U.S. combat troops from the war.

A dustup over war policy - one of the main issues separating the Illinois senator from his Republican opponent, John McCain - overshadowed Obama's town-hall meeting here with veterans to talk about patriotism and his plans to care for them. Republicans pounced on the chance to characterize Obama as altering one of the core policies that drove his candidacy "for the sake of political expedience." He denied equally forcefully that he was shifting positions.

Arriving in Fargo, Obama hastily called a news conference to discuss news of a sixth straight month of nationwide job losses, but the questioning turned to Iraq policy and his impending trip there.

"I am going to do a thorough assessment when I'm there," he said. "I'm sure I'll have more information and continue to refine my policy."

He left the impression that his talks with military commanders there could refine his promise to remove U.S. combat troops within 16 months of taking office.

Poll: Public cool to wivesof presidential candidates Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:11 EDT

WASHINGTON . The public hasn't taken to Michelle Obama yet, especially whites. And it's got a question about Cindy McCain: Who is she?

People are divided over whether they like the wife of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, with 30 percent seeing her favorably and 35 percent unfavorably, according to an Associated Press-Yahoo News poll released Wednesday.

They tilt positively toward the spouse of Republican hopeful John McCain, by 27 percent to 17 percent.

In other words: While the two women are about equally liked, Michelle Obama is twice as disliked as Cindy McCain.

Beshear appoints 11 to university boards Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:38 EDT

Gov. Steve Beshear appointed 10 Democrats and a Republican on Thursday to seats on the governing boards of Kentucky's public universities and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System.

All of the appointments are for six-year terms.

Beshear's lone Republican appointee was Cheryl U. Lewis, a Hyden lawyer, who was named to the Morehead State University Board of Regents.

At the University of Kentucky, C. Frank Shoop, a Lexington auto dealer, was reappointed; and Edward Britt Brockman, a Louisville doctor, was named to a new term. He replaces Billy Wilcoxson, a Lexington businessman and a Democrat, who was a trustee since 1987.

Beshear reorganizes horse racing authority Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:38 EDT

Gov. Steve Beshear on Thursday reorganized the state panel that regulates horse racing in Kentucky, adding several new members that are major Democratic party backers.

Beshear said he was making the move because racing is .in crisis and immediate, aggressive action is necessary to preserve its integrity..

The move comes as Ellis Park, a Thoroughbred racetrack in Henderson, abruptly closed on the eve of its 44-day summer meet.

.Any state like ours who claims to be the .Horse Capital of the World' and has a signature industry like the horse industry needs to address these issues very quickly . the medication issues, the safety issues, all of the kinds of things that are creating the crisis that we have right now,. Beshear said. .We need to move on it quickly and I believe the group that I have put together will do just that..

Beshear taps major fund-raiser for post Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:11 EDT

Gov. Steve Beshear has made room on the state payroll for a veteran Kentucky Democratic Party fund-raiser and Frankfort lobbyist.

One of Beshear's newest appointments is Stephanie C. Bell, 42, a policy adviser at the Public Service Commission. She started June 1 and gets $72,000 a year, according to state records.

Bell, whose r.sum. lists a B.A. in communications from the University of Kentucky, was a major Democratic fund-raiser under Gov. Paul Patton. As chairwoman of the Capitol Democrats in Frankfort, Bell built up its membership from 150 to more than 400.

State employees said they were encouraged to join the group as a .social club.; their $250 annual dues were forwarded to the state Democratic Party coffers.

Obama opens door on Iraq Fri, 04 Jul 2008 08:30 EDT

FARGO, N.D. . Democrat Barack Obama opened the door Thursday to refining his plan to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq in 16 months based on what he hears from military commanders during his upcoming trip there.

.I am going to do a thorough assessment when I'm there,. he said. .I'm sure I'll have more information and continue to refine my policy..

During his presidential campaign, Obama has gone from the hard-edged, vocal opposition to Iraq that defined his early candidacy to more nuanced rhetoric that calls for a phased-out drawdown of all combat brigades that, at a rate of one or two a month, could last 16 months. He has said that, if al-Qaida builds bases in Iraq, he would keep troops either in the country or the region for .targeted strikes..

Republicans, who have been goading Obama to return to Iraq to see conditions for himself, pounced.

Beshear names Blanton communications chief Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:18 EDT

Seven months into his term, Gov. Steve Beshear announced Thursday that he has hired a new communications director: Jay Blanton, 40, who runs public relations at the University of Kentucky. Blanton begins Aug. 1.

As it happens, Blanton's wife, Carla Blanton, served as one of several communications directors for previous Gov. Ernie Fletcher, leaving during the tumultuous state hiring investigation.

Blanton replaces Dick Brown, who is being transferred out of the Capitol to become spokesman for the cabinets of Energy and Environment and Public Protection and Labor. Mark York, who held that job up to now, has resigned.

Brown's deputy, Vicki Glass, recently quit the governor's office as well.

Republican Party ad assails Obama on energy Sun, 06 Jul 2008 13:25 EDT
TITLE: "Balance."

LENGTH: 30 seconds.

AIRING: Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

SCRIPT: Announcer: "Record gas prices. A climate in crisis. John McCain says solve it now with a balanced plan: Alternative energy, conservation, suspending the gas tax, and more production here at home. He's pushing his own party to face climate change. But Barack Obama? For conservation, but he just says no to lower gas taxes, no to nuclear, no to more production. No new solutions. Barack Obama: Just the party line. The Republican National Committee is responsible for the content of this advertising."

KEY IMAGES: A screen broken into hexagons portrays scenes of traffic, gas prices, the sun. A still photograph of McCain against green forest. The hexagons fill with images of windmills, solar panels, compact fluorescent light bulbs, an offshore oil rig, a nuclear cooling tower. Obama appears, framed by the same forest setting. But the screen grows darker and a script appears: "No Lower Gas Taxes." "No Nuclear Power." "No New Offshore Production." "No New Solutions." As the ad ends, bold type asserts: "Barack Obama. 97 percent party line voting, 2007"

McCain's health plan: A threat to employer plans? Sun, 06 Jul 2008 20:31 EDT
There's a great unknown about Sen. John McCain's health plan: How many employers would drop insurance coverage for their workers because of his tax policies?

The Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting has proposed that everyone buying health insurance get a refundable tax credit, $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families. At the same time, he would treat employer contributions toward health insurance like income, meaning workers would have to pay income, but not payroll, taxes on it.

McCain's Democratic rival, Barack Obama, says the plan would "shred" the employer-based system that provides health insurance to about 158 million workers.

Most health analysts won't go that far, but both liberals and conservatives say McCain's approach would strengthen the individual and small-group insurance market. And by strengthening that market, it will pull in workers now covered through their jobs.

The workers most inclined to make that transition will be younger, healthier ones who most likely will be able to buy a policy on the individual market for less than their tax credit, said Paul Fronstin, a senior research associate at the Employee Benefit Research Institute, which studies employee benefits.

Presidential candidates' housing plans at a glance Sun, 06 Jul 2008 09:20 EDT
Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama envision the Federal Housing Administration backing new, cheaper mortgages for distressed homeowners who otherwise would have difficulty refinancing into more secure government-insured loans with lower monthly payments. For the plans to work, lenders would have to be willing to take a substantial loss by reducing the amount owed on the loan in the hope they could recoup more money through refinancing than through a costly foreclosure and resale.

McCain:

- To be eligible for the FHA-insured mortgages, certain borrowers who live in their homes must prove creditworthiness at the time of the original loan and that they can meet the terms of a new 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.

-Separately, McCain wants the Justice Department to create a task force to investigate potential criminal wrongdoing in the mortgage industry.

Obama:

Analysis: McCain struggles to regain footing Sun, 06 Jul 2008 13:25 EDT
John McCain calls himself an underdog. That may be an understatement. The GOP presidential candidate trails Democrat Barack Obama in polls, organization and money while trying to succeed a deeply unpopular fellow Republican in a year that favors Democrats.

McCain also doesn't seem to have a coherent message let alone much of a strategy despite securing the nomination three months earlier than Obama.

"This is a tough race. We are behind. We are the underdog. That's what I like to be," the GOP nominee-in-waiting frequently tells donors these days, keenly aware not only of his woes but also his proven comeback ability: He won his party's nomination despite the implosion of his campaign last summer.

One year later, and now in the general election, McCain's troubles are so acute that he recently gave senior adviser Steve Schmidt "full operational control" of the day-to-day campaign and, effectively, scaled back the duties of campaign manager Rick Davis. The shift in responsibilities came after weeks of Republican quibbling that McCain had not adequately made the transition for the fall.

"The frustration is there's no big theme around which to build a winning campaign," said Steve Lombardo, a Republican pollster. "They need a big strategic message that will show the differences between the two campaigns, and allow for a win."

Obama: Media response to Iraq remarks overblown Sun, 06 Jul 2008 15:15 EDT
Barack Obama celebrated "active faith" as an obligation of religious Americans and a chief agent of societal change while speaking Saturday to a nearly all-black roomful of churchgoers, but hoping to reach far beyond them.

Earlier in the day as he flew from Montana to Missouri, Obama told reporters he was surprised at how the media has "finely calibrated" his recent words on Iraq, and reaffirmed his commitment to ending the war if elected.

Making a less than two-hour stop in the battleground state of Missouri, the Democratic presidential nominee implored the thousands attending a national meeting of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, one of the nation's largest and most politically and civically active black denominations, to help fix national and local ills.

He preached individual responsibility, saying he knew he risked criticism for "blaming the victim" by talking of the need for parents to help children with homework and turn off the TV, to pass on a healthy self-image to daughters, and teach boys both to respect women and "realize that responsibility does not end at conception."

But Obama's main message was the government's duty to address what he said are "moral problems" - such as war, poverty, joblessness, homelessness, violent streets and crumbling schools - and to employ religious institutions to do it.

Play of the Day: Malia Obama's "best birthday" Sat, 05 Jul 2008 18:37 EDT
Malia Obama told her parents that spending her 10th birthday helping her father campaign for the presidency far from home and "rocking out" with her family after takeout in a modest hotel room was the best she has ever had.

"I don't know whether she was just telling us what we wanted to hear. But from my perspective it was one of the best times I've had in a long time," Barack Obama, his voice choking up just a tad, told reporters traveling with him here Saturday from Montana, site of the birthday festivities over two days.

The Obama clan - the Democratic presidential nominee, his wife, Michelle, their daughters, Malia and Sasha, and his sister and her family - transplanted to Butte, Mont., for Friday's Fourth of July holiday, which also was Malia's birthday.

It was a full, hot day of campaigning.

There was dutiful attendance at the small mining town's parade, a campaign-hosted "family picnic" for hundreds on sun-drenched a hillside, and a long afternoon of several media interviews that included pictures of the girls playing and even questions from television's "Access Hollywood," despite the Obamas' typical prohibition on media attention for them. Obama also was the subject of intense filming attention, as Davis Guggenheim, the Academy Award-winning director of "An Inconvenient Truth" - Al Gore's environmental documentary - spent the day shooting him for the biopic to be aired at the Democratic National Convention next month.

Obama, Clinton to hold joint fundraisers in NY Sun, 06 Jul 2008 09:15 EDT
Now that they're allies, Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton will help each other raise money in a series of fundraisers in New York next week.

Obama campaign spokesman Jen Psaki said the Democratic nominee-in-waiting and Clinton will hold three fundraisers. Two events are scheduled for Wednesday night - one to raise money for his general election campaign and one to help pay off debts from her primary campaign. A third fundraiser, for Obama, is a breakfast Thursday morning with women donors that Clinton, a New York senator, will attend.

The fundraisers will be the first joint appearances by the former foes since their lovefest in Unity, N.H., on June 27.

Respect for military service doesn't translate into votes Sun, 06 Jul 2008 11:23 EDT

WASHINGTON . How important is military service in this presidential election?

Republican nominee John McCain has a vaunted military record. Democrat Barack Obama has none. But four months out from the voting, Obama is ahead in national surveys.

History shows that whether a candidate has military experience rarely determines who'll win election to the nation's highest office. Still, there's enough evidence that Americans respect military service and connect it to patriotism that Obama has been making a concerted effort, especially as Independence Day approached, to talk about his love of country and respect for an institution he never joined.

.We must always express our profound gratitude for the service of our men and women in uniform . period,. Obama said Monday in a speech about patriotism, adding that a silver lining of the war in Iraq .has been the widespread recognition that whether you support this war or oppose it, the sacrifice of our troops is always worthy of honor..

GOP .attack machine' is MIA in 2008 election Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:28 EDT

WASHINGTON . Democrats and the media have used the term so much that it's almost an article of faith. But the so-called .Republican attack machine. waiting with piles of unregulated cash to chew up Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is anything but.

Obama cited the threat of unregulated attack groups to justify dropping his pledge to take public financing . along with its spending limits . for the general election campaign. The groups are called .527s. because they're authorized to raise unlimited cash under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Service code.

Yet there's no 2008 equivalent to the 2004 Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which spent $22 million attacking Democrat John Kerry. Prominent groups and donors that played key roles in independent conservative 527 groups four years ago say they're sitting out this election. And while they've raised more than they had at this point four years ago, the independent pro-Republican groups still lag more than $50 million behind pro-Democratic groups.

Why? Analysts and Republican insiders point to several reasons:

Obama marks holidayin conservative Montana Sat, 05 Jul 2008 05:23 EDT

BUTTE, Mont. . It was a family Fourth of July for Democrat Barack Obama as his wife, daughters, sister and other relatives helped him make an Independence Day play for this reliably conservative state.

Obama paid tribute to a nation in which the son of a single mother could rise to such heights.

.I know that there is no other country out there where I could be standing before you as somebody who could potentially be president of the United States,. he said at a campaign-sponsored .family picnic. for hundreds of people . part rally, part birthday party for his oldest daughter, Malia, who turned 10 on Friday. .We are going to change the world..

Cheers greeted Obama, his wife, Michelle, and their two daughters everywhere. As they arrived to watch the Fourth of July parade, the crowd broke into a rendition of Happy Birthday for Malia.

McCain goes to church, visits VA hospital Sun, 06 Jul 2008 20:36 EDT
Republican presidential hopeful John McCain attended church Sunday and later visited a Veterans Affairs hospital in his hometown.

The senator and his wife Cindy took part in the 75-minute service at the North Phoenix Baptist Church and shook hands with greeters, ushers and church members before and after the ceremony.

McCain had remained out of sight for most of the holiday weekend and many of the hundreds of worshippers did not seem to notice that he was sitting in the church with his wife.

The theme of the sermon by Pastor Dan Yeary was that people can lift their spiritual lives through sacrifice.

Shortly after the church service, McCain and his wife went to a Veterans Affairs hospital in central Phoenix for a 45-minutes visit.

Foreclosures expected to rise despite rescue plans Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:29 EDT

WASHINGTON . Home foreclosures will keep rising next year no matter who is elected president in November.

Even the optimism that surrounds a new president cannot resurrect home values overnight, and presidents have no direct ability to reduce rising mortgage rates. Nevertheless, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain both promise help for homeowners facing foreclosure.

Obama supports a broader role for government than does McCain. Both envision the Federal Housing Administration providing new, cheaper mortgages to distressed home.owners who otherwise would have difficulty refinancing into more secure government-insured loans with lower monthly payments.

For the plans to work, lenders would have to be willing to take a substantial loss by reducing the amount owed on the loan. But some would have a powerful incentive to do so. A refinancing deal could allow them to recover far more money than they would get from the costly process of foreclosing on the property and trying to resell it.

New laws take effect July 15 Sat, 05 Jul 2008 05:23 EDT

FRANKFORT . Penalties will increase for child abusers. Torturing dogs or cats might lead to jail time.

Women with no insurance will be covered by Medicaid for breast and cervical cancer treatments. And gas station operators will be able to recover from fuel theft without going to court.

These and a slew of other new rules for living in Kentucky will take effect July 15, thanks to Kentucky's 2008 General Assembly.

Though this year's legislative session was dubbed by some as one of the worst in memory for its shortage of major initiatives, it did approve hundreds of pieces of legislation that affect many people.

Method of AP-Yahoo News Poll Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:39 EDT
The AP-Yahoo News Poll is a unique study that is tracking the moods and opinions of a group of people throughout the presidential election campaign. The fifth wave of this study included re-interviews between June 13-23 with 1,759 people who originally were interviewed in November or early December. The extensive national survey was conducted by Knowledge Networks of Menlo Park, Calif., under the direction and supervision of AP's polling unit.

The interviews were conducted online. The original sample was drawn from a panel of respondents Knowledge Networks recruited via random sampling of landline telephone households with listed and unlisted numbers. The company provides Web access to panel recruits who don't already have it. With a probability basis and coverage of people who otherwise couldn't access the Internet, the Knowledge Networks online surveys are nationally representative.

Results were weighted, or adjusted, to reflect the adult population by demographic factors such as age, sex, region, and education.

No more than one time in 20 should chance variations in the sample cause results to vary more than plus or minus 2.3 percentage points from the answers that would have been obtained if all adults in the U.S. were surveyed. The sampling error margin is plus or minus 3.4 percentage points for the subsample of 844 Democrats and those who lean toward the Democratic Party, 3.9 percentage points for the subsample of 637 Republicans and those who lean toward the Republican Party.

There are other, potentially greater, sources of variability in surveys, including the wording and order of the questions.

Poll: 'Old' used most for McCain; 'change', 'outsider' for Obama Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:39 EDT
The top 10 answers people volunteered when asked to describe presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama, according to an Associated Press-Yahoo News poll released Monday. Included is the percentage of people who gave each answer. More than one response was allowed.

John McCain:

1. Old, 19 percent

2. Military service, 9 percent

3. Record, qualifications, 8 percent

McCain touts plan to create jobs, help workers Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:39 EDT
Republican presidential candidate John McCain acknowledged the steep drop in U.S. jobs and said he would help the economy by cutting taxes, encouraging free trade, building nuclear power plants and launching other initiatives.

Economic problems under the Bush administration pose a major challenge to McCain and fellow Republicans running for House and Senate seats this fall. In remarks prepared for an event in Denver on Monday, McCain tried to confront the issue with a can-do spirit.

More than 400,000 jobs have been lost since December, he said, adding, "Americans are worried about the security of their current job, and they're worried that they, their kids and their neighbors may not find good jobs and new opportunities in the future."

He cited a list of previously announced proposals that he said are better-suited to helping the economy than are plans by Democrat Barack Obama.

"I will double the child deduction from $3,500 to $7,000 for every dependent," McCain said in the prepared remarks. He also cited his plans to cut the estate tax, although Democrats note that it applies to only a fraction of Americans.

Old guy vs change: McCain, Obama images take shape Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:54 EDT
Now more than ever, it's the old guy against the agent of change.

Ask people to blurt out their first words about the two presidential candidates and one in five say "change" or "outsider" for Barack Obama and "old" for John McCain, according to an Associated Press-Yahoo News poll released Monday. Those are not only the top responses for each man but the answers that have grown the most since January, when fewer than one in 10 volunteered those descriptions.

Four months from Election Day, the survey underscores that people see quality and question marks in both contenders as they struggle to control their images. Lack of experience is the next most frequently offered view of Obama, 46, the Democrat who came to the Senate from Illinois less than four years ago; for McCain, 71, the Republican senator from Arizona and Vietnam prisoner of war, it's his military service.

"My husband and I are about the same age as McCain, and I don't think we'd be in a position to take this country in the direction it needs to go," said Rosemary Bates, 65, of Barre, Vt., an Obama supporter. "We've grown up in a different era. Something is not working and it needs to be changed."

Obama is seen as warmer and more empathetic, McCain stronger and tougher. When people are asked whether specific words and phrases apply to each man, the Democrat does 12 percentage points better for caring about "people like you" and is 11 points more likable. McCain has a 24-point edge as a military leader and is 9 points more decisive.

Obama's plane lands in St. Louis for maintenance Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:34 EDT
The airplane carrying Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama made a precautionary landing in St. Louis on Monday after the crew had a problem keeping the nose up on takeoff from Chicago.

The plane, an MD-80 Midwest charter, struggled to keep the nose at the necessary angle, as it left for Charlotte, N.C., the pilot said. Later, Midwest Airlines said the problem developed because an emergency slide located in the tail cone of the plane deployed in flight and never threatened the safety of the flight.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown said the plane did not declare an emergency but "requested a diversion for mechanical issues they called a flight control problem."

After landing, Obama read the paper in the front cabin, but ventured briefly to chat with the press at one point.

"I just thought we'd spice things up a little bit today," Obama joked.

California dreaming _ can McCain win? Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:24 EDT
John McCain is starting a California campaign that might already be over.

The Republican presidential candidate opens a handful of political offices this week in the nation's most populous state, the historical turf of Reagan and Nixon that in recent years has become a Democratic fortress in presidential contests.

The Arizona senator boasts that he can win California's 55 electoral votes, the biggest prize on Nov. 4, but he's running as the Republican successor to GOP President George Bush, whose approval rating is at an all-time low in the state. Three of four voters say the nation is on the wrong track, and McCain's opposition to abortion rights and his support for the Iraq war and offshore drilling leave him out of step with a potentially decisive swath of Californians.

A Republican hasn't carried the state in a presidential contest in two decades, and Al Gore and John Kerry notched double-digit victories here. Democratic voter registration is inching up, while the Republican slice of the electorate is shrinking. The growing ranks of Hispanic voters - possibly 20 percent of the California vote this November - tilt Democratic.

The numbers are so daunting for a Republican that Bush didn't bother to contest the state in 2004.

Obama denies shifting to reach political center Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:15 EDT
Asked by a voter about accusations of flip-flopping, Democrat Barack Obama dismissed the notion Tuesday that he has been shifting stances on Iraq, guns and the death penalty to break with his party's liberal wing and court a wider swath of voters.

"The people who say this haven't apparently been listening to me," the likely Democratic presidential nominee said in response to a question at a town-hall style event.

Obama blamed criticism from "my friends on the left" and "some of the media" in part on cynicism that ascribes political motives for every move candidates make. "You're not going to agree with me on 100 percent of what I think, but don't assume that if I don't agree with you on something that it must be because I'm doing that politically," he said. "I may just disagree with you."

The Illinois senator was responding to a question from a self-described "reformed Republican" who said he worked for Democrat Bobby Kennedy four decades ago and thanked Obama for restoring "that faith."

"You had an interesting week off being accused of flip-flopping, which is mostly nonsense," the man said. He then asked Obama to restate his Iraq position, and Obama used the opportunity to dispel the idea he had changed his stances on a range of issues.

McCain ad dismissive of rival's 'beautiful words' Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:15 EDT
TITLE: "Love."

LENGTH: 60 seconds

AIRING: National cable and Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Northern Virginia and Wisconsin.

SCRIPT: Announcer: "It was a time of uncertainty, hope and change. The 'Summer Of Love.' Half a world away, another kind of love - of country.

"John McCain: Shot down. Bayoneted. Tortured. Offered early release, he said, 'No.' He'd sworn an oath.

Obama proposes bankruptcy changes Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:35 EDT
Barack Obama on Tuesday proposed changing bankruptcy laws to fast-track the process for military families, help seniors keep their homes, and protect people recovering from natural disasters.

The Democratic presidential hopeful also accused Republican rival John McCain of repeatedly siding with the banking industry, saying, "When it comes to strengthening the safety net for hardworking families, he's been part of the problem, not part of the solution."

Both candidates are in the midst of weeklong efforts devoted to the economy, the top concern of voters four months before the election as gas prices and job layoffs rise while the credit crisis and housing crunch continue. Each senator is trying to portray himself as most in tune with the needs of a middle class that's smarting from tenuous economic times - and the other as out of touch.

It was in that vein that Obama castigated McCain - and sought to link him to the unpopular President Bush - as the Illinois senator announced his fresh proposals before a few thousand people in a high school gymnasium in this city outside of Atlanta.

"Like the president he hopes to succeed, Sen. McCain does not believe the government has a real role to play in protecting Americans from unscrupulous lending practices," Obama said. "He would continue to allow the banks and credit card companies to tilt the playing field in their favor, at the expense of hardworking Americans."

Malia Obama looks forward to decorating WH room Tue, 08 Jul 2008 12:36 EDT
Her father is famous but Malia Obama is like a lot of 10-year-olds: she sometimes finds him embarrassing.

She recalled one time when a friend came over to their house in Chicago and her father, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, ever in campaign mode, shook the girl's hand to say hello. Malia recalled telling him:

"You really don't shake kids' hands that much ... You just wave or say hi," she said in an interview with "Access Hollywood."

The Obamas were interviewed last week in Butte, Mont., where the Illinois senator took the family to help him with the double task of campaigning on the Fourth of July and celebrating Malia's 10th birthday that day.

Obama and his wife, Michelle, typically frown upon media coverage and photographs of their daughters, but allowed "Access Hollywood" to interview Malia and her younger sister, Sasha, 7.

Minn. gambling authority questions Obama Web offer Tue, 08 Jul 2008 10:43 EDT
A Minnesota official has asked state authorities to investigate whether a request for money by Barack Obama's presidential campaign constitutes an illegal raffle.

In a letter on the campaign's Web site, campaign manager David Plouffe ties the solicitation to the announcement that Obama will deliver his nomination acceptance speech at Denver's 76,000-seat Invesco Field at Mile High.

"If you make a donation of $5 or more between now and midnight on July 31st, you could be one of 10 supporters chosen to fly to Denver and spend two days and nights at the convention, meet Barack backstage, and watch his acceptance speech in person. Each of the 10 supporters who are selected will be able to bring one guest to join them," Plouffe says.

How the 10 will be selected is not detailed. The campaign says the solicitation is not a raffle.

Tom Barrett, the director of Minnesota's Gambling Control Board, said he has asked the state Department of Public Safety to look into whether the solicitation violates Minnesota gambling laws. Only nonprofit charities may conduct raffles in Minnesota.

Stadium speech by Obama sends networks scrambling Tue, 08 Jul 2008 02:26 EDT
Barack Obama's plan to accept the Democratic presidential nomination at a Denver outdoor stadium instead of the arena in which his party's convention will be held sent the television networks scrambling Monday.

Only hours after Obama announced he would make his speech at the 76,000-seat Invesco Field at Mile High instead of the Pepsi Center, executives at ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and Fox News Channel held a conference call to discuss how it affects their carefully considered plans to pool camera coverage of the event.

The budget-conscious broadcast networks will also consider scaling back the size of studios they traditionally build at the convention center, knowing they will also have to prepare perches for their anchors at the stadium, said executives at three networks who spoke on condition of anonymity because no decisions had been made.

The broadcast networks haven't announced their plans, but it's likely they will each set aside one hour in prime-time for three of the four nights of the convention. That will include Obama's speech, and most likely the acceptance speech for the Democratic vice presidential candidates.

CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC will have more extensive coverage, and aren't likely to be scaling back. MSNBC will anchor its coverage from an outdoor studio in Denver, and CNN has a mobile studio that it plans to use.

McCain, Obama challenge each other on economy Tue, 08 Jul 2008 02:14 EDT

WASHINGTON . Sen. John McCain tried Monday to relaunch his campaign with a pledge to use broad-based tax cuts to revive the ailing economy . and a string of barbs contrasting his views with Sen. Barack Obama's.

.The choice in this election is stark and simple,. McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, told a town hall meeting in Denver. .Senator Obama will raise your taxes. I won't. I will cut them where I can..

Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, countered by challenging McCain and promising that he won't raise taxes on anyone who makes less than $250,000 a year. .If Senator McCain wants a debate about taxes in this campaign,. Obama told supporters in Charlotte, N.C., .that's a debate I'm happy to have.. Obama spoke to his backers through a telephone hookup after his Charlotte-bound plane was grounded in St. Louis because of maintenance trouble.

Neither candidate's address Monday contained new proposals. McCain's chief purpose was not only to shift his campaign's focus squarely to the economy but also to reignite his White House bid after weeks of organizational trouble.

Poll: Obama seen as .change,' McCain, .old' Tue, 08 Jul 2008 02:14 EDT

WASHINGTON . Now, more than ever, it's the old guy against the agent of change.

Ask people to blurt out their first words about the two presidential candidates and one in five say .change. or .outsider. for Barack Obama and .old. for John McCain, according to an Associated Press-Yahoo News poll released Monday. Those are not only the top responses for each man but the answers that have grown the most since January, when fewer than one in 10 volunteered those descriptions.

Four months from Election Day, the survey underscores that people see quality and question marks in both contenders as they struggle to control their images. Lack of experience is the next most frequently offered view of Obama, 46, the Democrat who came to the Senate from Illinois less than four years ago; for McCain, 71, the Republican senator from Arizona and Vietnam prisoner of war, it's his military service.

.My husband and I are about the same age as McCain, and I don't think we'd be in a position to take this country in the direction it needs to go,. said Rosemary Bates, 65, of Barre, Vt., an Obama supporter. .We've grown up in a different era. Something is not working and it needs to be changed..

Frankfort politicians promote electric cars Tue, 08 Jul 2008 08:16 EDT

FRANKFORT . While gas prices hit $4.15 a gallon for unleaded at some Lexington stations Monday, political rivals in Frankfort were scrambling to take the lead on promoting electric cars.

Two Republican state senators . Gary Tapp of Shelby County and Dan Seum of Louisville . pre-filed a bill Monday that would allow three-wheeled electric vehicles on Kentucky roads.

The cars can go up to 45 miles on a charge that costs about 60 cents.

Obama ad attacks McCain on energy solutions Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:40 EDT
In his first negative ad of the general election campaign, Democrat Barack Obama says John McCain is "part of the problem" on energy, tackling an issue that is quickly becoming the top worry of voters.

The 30-second commercial is a direct response to a Republican Party ad that began airing this weekend. The GOP spot accuses Obama of offering no new solutions to solve high gas prices and global warming. Obama's ad will run in the same states where the Republican National Committee placed its ad - Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, his campaign said.

Obama's sharp retort represents an early escalation in the presidential ad wars. The ad comes as Americans, faced with gasoline prices of $4 and more, appear to be embracing some of McCain's proposed solutions, including increased oil drilling in the United States.

"On gas prices, John McCain's part of the problem," the Obama ad states. "McCain and Bush support a drilling plan that won't produce a drop of oil for seven years. McCain will give more tax breaks to big oil. He's voted with Bush 95 percent of the time.

"Barack Obama will make energy independence an urgent priority. Raise mileage standards. Fast-track technology for alternative fuels. A $1,000 tax cut to help families as we break the grip of foreign oil. A real plan and new energy."

Nomination acceptance to be at stadium Tue, 08 Jul 2008 02:14 EDT

NEW YORK . In a break with tradition, Barack Obama will accept the Democratic presidential nomination at Invesco Field at Mile High, a 76,000-seat stadium, rather than at the site of the party's national convention across town.

Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean acknowledged the decision to move Obama's speech on the final night of the Aug. 25-28 convention to the giant open-air football field of the Denver Broncos would raise security challenges, but said he and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper had agreed such concerns won't deter the change in venue.

Dean, in a conference call with reporters, also batted away questions about logistical challenges and added costs, saying those things would be worked out in the coming weeks.

Obama, speaking to reporters in St. Louis, said he was excited about the move.

Cost of college on lawmakers' minds Tue, 08 Jul 2008 02:19 EDT

FRANKFORT . Tuition at Kentucky's public universities and community colleges has shot up an average of 12 percent a year over the last five years, which is about four times the rate of inflation and the growth of the state's median family income.

That may be putting the cost of a college education out of reach for ordinary Kentuckians, worried state legislators and postsecondary education officials said Monday.

.Something's got to happen,. said Richard A. Crofts, the interim president of the state Council on Postsecondary Education.

.It can't continue, and we're going to have to develop a plan,. he said

Jackson apologizes for comment about Obama Wed, 09 Jul 2008 22:28 EDT
The Rev. Jesse Jackson apologized Wednesday to Barack Obama for making a "regretfully crude" comment about the Democratic presidential hopeful during what he thought was a private conversation three days ago.

Jackson said the "hurtful and wrong" comments Sunday came in response to a question from a fellow guest during a break from taping "Fox & Friends." The guest asked about speeches on morality Obama has given at black churches.

Jackson said at a news conference that he had replied that Obama's speeches can come off as speaking down to black people and that there were other important issues to be addressed in the community, such as unemployment, the mortgage crisis and the number of blacks in prison.

He said he was not aware the microphone was still on.

Jackson declined to repeat the comments, but said he decided to apologize publicly after hearing from Fox that it would air them.

McCain: Social Security funding now `a disgrace' Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:33 EDT
The system for funding Social Security is "a disgrace" because it forces young workers to pay into a program that is unlikely to benefit them in its current form, Republican presidential candidate John McCain said this week, wading into politically touchy territory.

Like many other politicians, McCain often questions the long-term viability of the government retirement program. But he raised eyebrows with an unusually harsh assessment Monday at a town-hall forum in Denver.

Asked by a young woman if she is likely to receive Social Security benefits someday, McCain said it was unlikely "unless we fix it."

"Americans have got to understand that we are paying present-day retirees with the taxes paid by young workers in America today," he said. "And that's a disgrace. It's an absolute disgrace, and it's got to be fixed."

Some Democrats criticized the remarks because McCain basically was describing how Social Security has always worked. Current retiree benefits are supplied by payroll taxes from current workers.

NJ GOP Club takes Obama-O.J. slogan off Web site Wed, 09 Jul 2008 16:43 EDT
A local Republican Club in New Jersey has removed a slogan from its Web site that read, "Obama loves America like O.J. loved Nicole."

The Pemberton Republican Club had posted the slogan that referenced NFL Hall of Famer O.J. Simpson, who was acquitted in the 1994 murders of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman.

Bill Layton, the Burlington County Republican chairman, said the posting was not authorized by the party. "I think it's despicable, and I completely denounce it," he said.

Todd Riffle, spokesman for the New Jersey Republican State Committee, said the state party isn't tied to local Republican clubs.

The Pemberton Republican Club removed the slogan after Democrats alleged racist campaign tactics.

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